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Thursday, April 16, 2015

WHERE WERE YOU ON APRIL 19, 1995? by CHERYL PIERSON

NOTE: It's been twenty years. Hard to believe that twenty years have passed since that fateful day, when a homegrown terrorist snuffed out 168 lives, 19 of them children in the daycare at the Murrah Building. Today there will be a ceremony as there is, every year, at the bomb site. But I think it's especially poignant this year for this milestone. Twenty years is a lifetime--time for a baby to grow to adulthood and strike out on their own; for grandchildren to be born and grow into the people they will become...but for 168 people, that future ended in a single moment.

Where were you when you heard that Elvis had died? Or John Lennon? Where were you when you found out JFK had been assassinated? Where were you nineteen years ago on April 19, 1995?

Many people won’t remember the date, but they remember what happened. This Saturday, April 19, is the anniversary of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building here in Oklahoma City. Up to that date, it was the largest number of deaths on U.S. soil caused by a terrorist act. That record was broken, of course, on September 11, 2001, with the destruction of the twin towers in New York City.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, I had gone to work. My job at McDonald’s Corporate Offices was located several miles from the downtown area. I was the “complaint person”—the one everyone called to report everything from an incorrect order to a pot hole in the drive-through on Forty-Ninth Street. We had just received a call from a man who was attempting to sue McDonald’s for a scratch on his car’s paint job. I’d transferred him to my supervisor, irritated at his persistence.
At 9:03, the building shook, and plaster fell from the ceiling onto my desk, and into my hair. We were on the seventh floor of the building, but were not panicked about the safety of the structure.

Someone hooked up the small TV that was used for videos in conferences and we all made our way into the conference room. The picture was grainy since the TV wasn’t on cable, but we were able to see the first reports as they began to come in.

In the beginning, the explosion was thought to be caused by natural gas. Within the hour, though, those initial reports were negated and the public was told the truth. Unbelievably, it had been some kind of bomb.

Another chilling fact was quickly disclosed. Since no one was sure of why the federal building had been targeted, federal and state employees were being sent home from offices in other locations.

My husband worked for the Federal Aviation Administration at the time. Normally, he would have been released. But since he was a former Navy man with extensive military training, he and some of the others with a military background were asked to stay and help do a bomb sweep of the FAA training facility.

The entire facility was on lockdown. This meant I couldn’t get on base to pick up our son, Casey, who attended the daycare there.
Within the next hour, I received a phone call from my mother-in-law, Esta, in West Virginia. You had to know Esta to know, when she put her mind to something, she got it done. In a world gone crazy, with telephone circuits busy and no hope of getting through, she somehow managed without even having my direct number. All she knew was that I worked at the corporate office for McDonald’s.

When I answered the phone on my desk, at the other end of the line was an operator that Esta had commandeered, explained what had happened, and talked into placing the call through as a person-to-person emergency call. I assured the operator that I was Cheryl Pierson and thanked her for placing the call. She sounded worried. “How bad is it?” she asked. “We aren’t sure,” I told her. There was silence for a moment before she turned the call over to my mother-in-law. “Take care, hon,” she said. “We’re all praying for you.” Her voice was gravelly with emotion. That brought tears to my eyes, too.

I didn’t tell my mother-in-law that Gary was still at the FAA, unable to leave. Or that Casey was there, and I couldn’t get on base to get him. I promised to call her when we knew more. I had to get Jessica from school.

You see, the fear was not knowing. Not knowing, at that point, who had done it, or why? How many people were involved? Were they going to target other federal or state agencies…or schools?

I drove to my daughter’s elementary school. The parking lot was full, even though it was not quite 11:30. I asked Jessica if she knew what had happened and was shocked to find out they had had the children in the auditorium with the television on for a big part of the morning…until things got too graphic.

“Are Dad and Casey home yet?”

I put on my best smile. “No, not yet. They’ll be along shortly.”

An hour or so later, prayers were answered and Gary pulled into the driveway with Casey. But our world was changed forever that day.

As the news coverage continued, it was a nightmare we dealt with every day for at least a year: The deaths, the images of loss that came from that day, and the anger.

But there was good that came from it, too. Oklahomans showed the pioneer spirit of those who came before us and rose to the occasion. Because of that tragedy in 1995, we learned the hard way that a terrorist can be home-grown, but we kept strong and showed the world where the bar of the “Oklahoma Standard” was set. When 9/11 happened, many of our first responders and medical trauma professionals rushed immediately to New York City. We were the only other state that had had anything remotely similar happen, and the experience to lend a hand.

Though, thankfully, no one in our family was hurt or killed in that tragedy of April 19, 1995, I don’t know anyone who didn’t know someone—however remotely—that it touched.
I had to quit my job. Casey began having nightmares, and believed his daycare was going to “blow up.” When he built a Lego “daycare” with part of the wall gone and the flag lying in a heap of Lego bricks, I knew I needed to be home with him. Eventually, his fears passed.

But the sadness will always remain for those who lost their lives in that senseless act of terrorism; for those since who have taken their own lives due to “survivor guilt;” for the end of the innocence we might have still harbored—the feeling that we were safe in the heartland of America.

As the years pass, we tend to forget. But as painful as those memories are, we cannot afford to lose the hard-won lessons.
RICK BURGESS PHOTOGRAPHY

A beautiful memorial museum stands on the site today. There is a chain link fence surrounding part of the grounds where visitors come to leave remembrances and mementos. In nineteen years, I still have not been able to bring myself to visit the museum. I’m glad we have it, and that people come to pay their respects. I don’t need to see it, though. I lived it. And I will never, ever forget.

A SIDE NOTE: My daughter, Jessica, has "the other side" from a child's perspective on her blog, Caution to the Winds. This is the "other side" of her memories of what happened that day, when she was only 8 years old. I have to admit, it made me teary. If you are interested and get a chance, please take a look and leave a comment for her.

8 comments:

Cheryl, This story resonates even more today. Why people feel the only way to resolve issues is to resort to violence is an age old question, but the cost to us as a nation, the people who are victims and the families who are left to question. We should never forget...but we do, don't we? What you and others who were close by suffered, all I can say is bless you and thank you for making sure we remember.

Doris, thanks for letting me know about Jessica's link. I corrected it above and it works now. Thanks for stopping by today--I know you've already seen this post, and I thank you for taking time to comment again on it. I was thinking about this the other day--we tend to forget MANY things--Kathleen reminded us of the Alamo and Goliad--and I wager there are many younger people who don't even know about the Alamo, much less Goliad.

My daughter, Jessica, works with lots of kids in acting classes, and many of them who live right here don't even know much (if anything) about the bombing. Amazing.

Thanks so much for stopping by--try that link again, it'll work this time!Cheryl

James and I had worked all day, so hadn't heard any news when I went to pick up our daughters at the elementary school. This was back in the days when you could actually go into the school and pick up your children at the door of their classroom. The other moms quickly filled me in. Those innocent days became just a memory. The next year we were no longer allowed in the school without permission, which didn't include picking up your children at the end of the day and chatting with the other moms and dads.

Yes, I remember how everything changed, and even now, it's not enough to keep wackos from coming in with knives, guns, and so on if they really want to get in. I shudder to think what it would be like if we HADN'T implemented those changes, but it sure took away a sense of community--being able to come in and visit other moms, etc. like you're talking about. Cheryl

Oh my gosh Cheryl. I can only imagine what you went through. I remember the day only too well. I was scheduled to be at a trade show across from the Murrah Building, but the night before I got a call that my first granddaughter would be born the next morning, so I blew off the show and flew to North Carolina instead of going to OKC! I'll never, never forget the moment I looked up at the TV and saw the explosion. The ironic thing is that the guys that I would have been with would have been slowed down with me and my high heel shoes. Danny and John, knowing air conditioning systems and sounds systems darted into the building and helped guide people out based on the structural damage. I love my Emma dearly and every birthday, I think about the OKC Bombing and how close I was to possibly being hurt. They turned the trade show area into the morgue and the other side were food vendors who helped feed the first responders and volunteers. When I come to OWFI in OKC, we usually go by the memorial. Cheryl, my love and prayers are coming your way. Much love, P

Phyliss, what a tale! You were so lucky to have gotten that call about your granddaughter's birth! So many "smaller stories" that are included in the "big picture". Thanks for sharing your story with us, Phyliss. And thanks for your love and prayers. Been wondering where you've been, girl. Nose to the grindstone? I tried to call you back, left a message. Call me when you ever get a chance.Love to you,Cheryl

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